KING
by las184
Summary: He is the ruler, she the assassinator. She works for him in his twisted, dark world. Quick ONESHOT


**KING**

The dark king sat upon his throne, smirking in a conceited way as he watched the killing of the pathetic guard. The two black hounds lying down on either side of the throne rose to their feet and began howling and snarling at the smell of blood. The king would not have cared if the dogs began feasting on the dead man, but he silenced them today and they sat obediently, albeit a little grudgingly.

"Dispose of him," the king said and two sentinels brought the dead man away.

The executioner turned to the king and bowed low. "My King. Was that to your satisfaction?"

The king scowled lightly. "I have seen you do better." The executioner remained in his bowing position. "I apologize deeply, my Lord. If you command me to execute another –"

"Silence."

The cloaked man bent over in front of the king abruptly stopped speaking.

"Would executing another bring about a better performance?" the king questioned in an even but powerful tone, causing the man before him to tremble.

"My Lord, I _will _– "

"You have no permission to speak!"

The loud ringing of the king's voice in the chamber caused the dogs to whine softly. The executioner winced.

The king looked disgustedly at the cloaked man. "Go, before I sentence _your _execution."

The trembling man bowed, and left in a great hurry.

The king sighed exasperatedly and glanced around his throne room. It wasn't the most extravagant of chambers, but he relished the darkness and the cool air of the room. Besides the throne in the heart of the room, the only other decorations were the skulls of men in small piles about the room and bones carved and hung on the walls. Small windows were placed at random, letting in some light from the world outside. But the king preferred darkness.

He petted the head of the dog to his right. "I should get a new executioner," he said. The dog barked once.

The other dog suddenly sat up and howled. The king grinned as he knew what that meant:

His favorite assassin had returned.

He leaned forward to put his arms over his knees as he waited for her. The two dogs barked excitedly.

The shouting of a man alerted the king of her presence. The man was begging for mercy as he was, undoubtedly, being pulled by the neck against his will.

Soon, her slender figure appeared at the entrance, pulling her prey along by a rope. Her violet eyes glinted in the dimness and she smiled when she saw her king.

When she had pulled the man well into the room, she stood before the king and curtsied in the hooded robe she wore. "My King."

"Rukia," he said, grinning widely. She straightened up and gestured to the man cowering behind her. "Dinner, perhaps?" she asked, smiling. The man squeaked and tried to flee, but her hold on the rope was strong.

The king spat. "Commoners give me indigestion."

The assassin laughed, a light chime-like sound. "Of course, my Lord." The dogs jumped around, growling.

"P-please, spare me! I beg of you!" yelled the man, going to his knees and bowing to the ground. The assassin narrowed her eyes. "I have brought you all the way here for the king, fool! He wants something of you!"

The king raised an eyebrow and looked at the man. "Rise," he commanded. The man hurriedly got up.

"Would you do me a favor?"

"I-It depends on what it is, M-my Lord," the man stuttered.

"Have you skills in fighting? Sword fighting, in particular."

"W-well, I do."

"Good. Do you see that sword over there." The king pointed to a gleaming sword on the wall. "Go and get it." The man nodded and walked to get the sword, Rukia following him to make sure he didn't run.

They returned to the front of the throne, the man holding the sword. He was quivering.

"I want you to kill her," the king said, looking to his assassin. She turned to face him, surprise on her face.

"Kill..her?" the man asked.

"Yes. Kill her," the king repeated.

"Ichi –"

"Both of you must fight till there is only one left standing. If you manage to kill this woman here, I will spare you." The king leaned back against his throne, gazing lazily at the pair before him. "There are no rules to this fight. Begin."

"Ichi –!"

Rukia's sentence was left hanging as the man lunged at her, calling out a war cry as he swung the borrowed sword down. One moment she was there and the next, she was standing some distance away.

"You idiot of a king! You know how I hate –"

The man had already turned to run towards her. Only a sword through that delicate body would gain him his freedom! He rushed forwards and Rukia glared at him.

In movements so quick, she had plunged a white sword through his back. The man fell to his knees, blood pooling around him, his last thoughts being 'How?'

The king laughed loudly. "All yours," he said to his dogs and they ran forward towards the fallen man, snarling as they fought for food.

Rukia sheathed her sword beneath her robe and stalked over to the laughing king, whose eyes followed her every move.

"Idiot! You know how I hate to fight unnecessarily! We both know that I would win, whatever the case!" she yelled.

The king narrowed his eyes, his laughter stopping. Only she was allowed to address him informally, but it sometimes annoyed him. "You were the one who created the lie that I wanted something of him and I took the chance. Besides, I needed some fun! You were gone too long."

The woman stared at him for a while before closing her eyes and letting out a long breath. "Ichigo Shirosaki. You could have just called me back."

"I sent you on important missions. You need your time."

The female sat down on his lap. "It was complete in less the time you gave me. I spent the other days...searching."

"For him?" The king looked pointedly at the now torn up man.

"The dogs need nourishment."

"You care so much for them."

"Of course. They are mine."

"And mine."

"They are here to protect you."

The king chuckled. "As you say." He stared hungrily at the woman sitting on him. "I need nourishment too."

Rukia giggled and touched the edge of the broken mask covering half of the king's face. Her eyes met one yellow-iris on a black background and a brown iris on a normal white. She bent forward to graze her lips against her king's. He responded with fervor.

The petite female backed up much to his disapproval. "I'm sorry, My Lord. Not right now. I wish to take a nice, long bath to clear away the sweat and blood. It's annoying how it sticks to you."

"I like a little sweat and blood," the king said in a sultry tone.

"I know you do. But, no. Later, maybe." She got up and stretched, whistling for the dogs. They bounded to her, pelts sleek after being fed. She bent down and touched each of them on their foreheads. "Watch him. Make sure he doesn't get 'nourishment' from some other."

"If you take too long, I just might," the king said matter-of-factly. Rukia glared at him. "Patience is a virtue," she said stonily. He laughed.

As she turned to walk away, the king stopped her. "I have small task for you before you clean up."

"Which is?"

"Remember our friend, the executioner? He is a disappointment."

Rukia smiled slightly. "Of course, My Lord."

She left the room in a flash, leaving the faint ring of a drawing sword behind.

~~~ xxx ~~~

**A/N: This was really random. I don't know where it came from.. **

**If you're saying to yourself, 'Hey, she got Ichigo's name wrong!', then you're correct and incorrect. It is wrong, but purposely done so. The King now is both Ichigo and his Hollow (half a mask, one yellow eye and one brown eye), so I wanted his name to remain Ichigo, but putting Ichigo Kurosaki wouldn't explain the Hollow side. So, because I've heard people use 'Shirosaki' for his Hollow, I just used that. And because of this two-side thing, he's pretty much in control. That's why he's not shouting things like his Hollow does every time we see it in the manga/anime. **

**-L**


End file.
